Machine for making wire garment hangers



y 29, 1 3 D. s. BOYLES 1,771,951

MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE GARMENT HANGERS Filed July 9, 1928 5 sheets-sheet 1 Q INVENTOR.

A TTORNE Y.

July'29,- 1930. D. s. BOYLES MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE GARMENT HANGERS Filed July 9, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR. OZ) 1 3 75 4% A TTURNEY.

@LuQ/Mr/mw July 29, 1930. I Di 5. BOYLES 1 MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE GARMENT HANGE RS Filed July 9, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. 00$. 3 BY 6.441. ama omfi.

A TTORNE Y.

July 29, 1930. D. s. BOYLES MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE GARMENT HANGERS Filed July 9, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 R M m N 1 By 0053 11,, (561].CWMJMfih.

A TTORNEY.

Patented July 29, 1930 DAVID S. BOYLES, OF ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE GARMENT HANGERS Application filed July 9,

The invention has relation to machines for making wire garment hangers, having for an object to provide an improved machine of this description, of great power, and capable of operation at high speed to produce amaximum number of hangers in a given time. Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combinations of parts as set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is a plan view of the invention with the wire f bending levers and the twister carriage, both the former and the latter in outward moved position; Figure 2 is a side view of the invention; Figure 3 is a detail plan view of said levers being in outward moved position; Figure 4 is a similar view, with said levers in inward moved position, the wire being shown as bent to form': Figures 5, 6, and 7 are detail diagrammatic side views of the operating means for the twister carriage, wire bending levers, etc., showing different positions thereof; Figure 8 is a detail side view partly insection of the operating means for the wire blank feeding devices; Figure 9 is adetail plan view of the twister carriage, and'Figure 10 is a detail end view of the twister head. I

'In these drawings the main frame, has

supported thereon a horizontal rack 2 for the wire blanks 3, cuttoproper length, and fed horizontally and forwardly to the forward end thereof into a vertical offset at deending from said rack and including a ver- 40 tical slot 5 having capacity to receive twelve wire blanks more or less, the lowermost wire blank 8 resting upon the lower of divider blades 6, these wire blanks 3 of wire being released and falling downwardly one at a 25 time bymovement of operating rod 7, the forward endof which is pivoted to lower end of arm 8, fast to and depending from rock shaft 9, having fast thereto rocker arm 10 extending above and below the same and at its upper and lower ends having pivoted thereto the'wire bending levers and operating parts,

Serial No. 291,238.

links 11, two in number, the forward ends of said links being pivoted to horizontal slides 12, two in number and sliding one above and in contact with the other, the lower slide carrying lower divider blade 6 aforesaid, and the upper slide carrying upper divider blade 6, the rearward movement of operating rod 7 stated causing thelower divider blade 6 to be carried rearward to release lowermost wire blank 3 resting thereon; the upper divider, blade being simultaneously carried forward beneath the vertical series of blanks 3 in slot 5 to support said series, the lower wire so released falling in said slot and coming to rest upon wire blank bending levers 13. In the reverse movement of operating rod 7 the lower divider blade is brought forward beneath the lowermost wire blank 3 to support the series of wire blanks in slot 5, and the upper. divider blade is retracted from beneath said wireblanks. v

The'wire blank bending levers 13 of which there are two, work horizont'ally and are fulcrumed each at its inner end at 14; to the 7 framing, being provided with upstanding projections 15', 15", shaped to form the upper parts of the hanger, the projections 15 at the free ends of said levers constituting jaws Within notches 16 0f which the adjacent ends of the wires 3 are received and clamped so that they are securely held against movement, as will be further explained,

The operating means for these levers 13 I consists of horizontally working slide 17, 35 working upon guides 18 of the framing and having at one end pivoted links 18' connecting the same with levers 13, power being exerted upon. said slide by horizontally working operating lever-19,fulcrumed at 20, and

having pivoted link connection 21 with the oint 22 of to e levers 23, the latter having each pivotal link connection 24 with said slide. Operating lever 19 has stud 19' engaging lateral projection 19"'of rod 7 to move the latter rearwardly to release one wire blank 3, r'everse movement of rod 7 taking lace by action of its retracting spring 7'. pon operation of lever 19, the toggle levers will be spread into and slightly past aligned have an angular relation to each other of about 55 and in spread position assume an angular relation to each other of approximately 100, the toggle levers and said'links o 24 both working between upstanding frame bearings 25, and the bent portions 24 of said links inspread position taking a fulcrum bearing against the rear sides of bearings 25 to accomplish the finishing pull in bending the wire blank to final garment hanger form. As a result of the foregoing, the finishing pull in bending the wire blanks 3 to garment hanger form is accomplished very powerfully through the straightening outof the toggle levers into alignment to cause links 24 to take a fulcrum bearing against bearings 25, the work arms of said links (now acting as levers) being quite short compared to the power arms thereof.

The wire blanks being bent into final garment hanger form, as stated, the links 24 will be locked against further spreading or movement in one direction by said bearings 25, the toggle levers 23 when moved slightly.

past aligned position as stated, taking a bearing against a lug 17 of said slide to lock said links 24 against movement in the opposite direction, the wire bending levers 13 being thereby effectually locked in clamping posi tion, to securely hold the wire 3' during the twisting of the free ends thereof, as will be explained. In this posit-ion of the parts, any strain of thewire bending and clamping levers 13 tending .to release the wire blanks will tend to further press thetoggle levers 23 past aligned position, and as this is resisted by lugs 17 of slide 17, the parts are eflectually locked as stated. j

The framing is, provided with spaced upstanding projections 25 designed to be located at the ends of the hanger and around whiclrthe wire blank'3 is bent to form such ends, said projections being suitably shaped for this purpose, and in order .to press and hold inwardly the bottom bar of the hanger' during the bendin operation slides 26 adjacent projections 5 are moved forwardly; Slides 26 are operated by pawls '27 of levers 27, fulcrumed at 28 and having link connection 29 with lever 30, fulcrumed upon rock shaft 31, said'lever 3O having'link connection 32 with upstanding lever 33, the latter fulcrumed at its lower end at 34 and. at its upper end having link connection 35 with de- I pending lugs 36 of slide 17, the latter forming an operating means for lever 33 and associated parts stated. The slides 26 and the operating parts thereof stated are held in po sition just as securely the same reasons.

as is the slide 17 for 3 in Figure 4, the clamping free ends thereof come to rest against-frame head 37, the latter being provided with a thin blade or free end 38 which enters within the notches 16 of said levers to force the wire within the same to properly shape and clamp this *partof' v-the hanger, the abutting free ends 39 of said levers having notch extensions 16 of and at right angles to notches 16, thereby causing right angle bends 40 to be formed in the wire ends in abutting relation preliminary to twisting the same together as will be explained. As said right angle bends 4O a'rebeing formed in the end portions of the wire length 3 as stated, said bends 40 at their outer ends will be brought against upstanding divideigprojection 41 of lever 43, said lever being operated to withdraw said divider projection longitudinally between and without said bends at the same time or shortly after the wire bending levers 13 are brought to final clamping position, the object being to permit the said bends 40 to more gradually come together in parallel opposed contacting relation as shown inFigure 4 rather than to snap together and cross each other as would be likelywerethis divider device not provided.

Operatinglever 19 ismoved from the position shown in Figures 1 and 3'to the position shown in Figure 4 to move wire bending le-' vers 13 from open to closed position to there- 7 by form the hanger and securely lock the same ready to twist the handle end thereof, the upstanding lever 33 being thereby moved rearwardly and a coiled spring 44 connect ing lever 33 with a similar upstanding lever 45 being tensioned, the last named lever being held in forward position at this time, due to link 46 pivotallyconnecting the upper end thereof with twister carriage 47, said carriage being held in' forward. position at this time, due to click 48, pivoted to the framing at 49. i

- The hanger being formed ready for twisting as stated, click .248 isreleased by triprod 49 pivoted to the lower end of said click at one end and at its other end being hung from arm 50 fast to and carried by' rock shaft 31. A coiled spring 51 connected to click 48 serves to normally hold said click in raised position engaging the twister carriage, and upon movement of the trip rod'49 to the position shown in Figure 2 said click is moved downwardly to release said twister carriage againstthe tension of spring 51. V p

This movement of the trip rod to release said twister carriage takes placeautomatically at the end of the movement of operating lever 19 to form the wire hanger and securely lock the same ready for twisting.

The twister carriage 47 being released as stated will be moved inwardly by tensioned ly to the position shown in Figure 3, to open the wire bending levers 13 and return the associated parts to normal or first position, the push rod 54 pushing lever to return the twister carriage to outer position as iniFigures 5 and 6 whereupon the click 48 will be reengaged with the twister carriage to hold it as moved. At the end of the movement stated of lever 33, the forward end of push rod 54 will ride upwardly upon pin 56 of the framing to the position shown in Figure 5 ready to escape from pin 52 when the operating lever l9 and upstanding lever 33 are again operated. I I

At the same time that the twister carriage is moved to inner or twisting position or from position Figure 6 to position Figure 7, the divider lever 43 is operated by pins 57 of link 46, this movement of the divider lever being almost simultaneous with the final clamping movement of the levers 13.

The twisting of the approximated wire.

ends of the hanger is accomplished by one half rotation of crank 58, of gear wheel 59,

the latter meshing with pinion 60 upon twister shaft 61, the gear ratio being four to one and one half turn of crank giving two turns to twist-er shaft or head, this giving the a desired twist.

Crank 58 is reversed when the first hanger has been bent into form and handle ends twisted, hanger removed, succeeding w re length 3 fed to position, and hangerbent 1nto form therefrom, when reversal .of crank one half turn will twlst second hanger, the operation of the parts following rapidly one after another so that the machine has a large production capacity.

T he twister head or shaft 61 is slotted at one end at 62 for the reception of two dies 63,

' divided by means of shims the thickness of i the wire to be twisted, said dies being held in position by means of set screw 64. The dies are provided with tapering countersink 65.

In the-twisting operation, the length of the ends of the wire being twisted together'is reduced, and in order to avoid strain and breaking of the wire as a result, it is necessary that the twister shaft 61 move forward slightly (about pose there is some end play allowed in twister shaft. -Coiled spring 65 is provided upon twister shaft and bears at one end against pin 66 of said shaft and at its other end upon sleeve 67 loose upon said shaft. The pressure of the spring upon the loose sleeve and pin is adapted to hold the twister one-eighth of an inch). For this purshaft in reverse position, allowing a forward movement of about one-eighth of an inch.

This almost entirely prevents breakage of to permit insertion of small wire to remove broken pieces.

I claim 1. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for feeding successive wire blanks, means for bending said blanks into form and for locking the bending means in final clamping position, including levers hav ing free j aw ends provided with notches havingrighti angle extensions, a stationary head having a. blade port-ion engaging said notches, the notch extensions being adapted to form right angleabutting bends in the end portions of the. wire blanks, and means for twisting the end portions of the blank together while the parts are so locked.

2. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for feeding successive wire blanks, means for bending said blanks'into form and for locking the bending means-in final clamping position including a slide, ispaccd abntments, toggle levers, and links connecting said toggle levers with said slide. said'links being adapted to take a fulcrum bearing against said spaced abutments as said toggle leversare brought into alignment to exert a finishing pull in bending the wire blanks into form, and means for twisting the wire ends together while the parts are so locked.

3. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for feeding successive wire blanks and means for bending said blanks into form including a slide, spaced abutments, toggle levers, and links connecting said toggle levers with said slide, said links being adapted to take a'fulcrum bearing against said spaced abutments as said toggle levers are brought into alignment.

4. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for feeding successive wire blanks, means for bending said blanks into j form and for locking the bending means in final clamping position, and means for twistingthe end portions of the blank together .while the parts are solocked, the twisting. means including a reciprocatory carriage having ahead provided with a'die for engag for moving the carriage to inner working position.

5. In a machine for making wire garment l e i hangers, means for feeding successive wire Ill blanks, and means forbending said blanks into form having parallel abutting end bends including levers having clamping jaws provided with notches having right angle extensions, and a stationary head having a blade portion engaging said notches proper, the notch extensions being adapted to start right angle bends in the end portions of the blank, and a device movable longitudinally bet-ween and without said end bends to facilitate the closing of said bends in parallel abutting relation.

6. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for feeding successive wire blanks, means for bending said blanks into form including levers having free jaw ends provided with notches, and a stationary head having a blade portion engaging said notches, the framing having spaced lugs about which the hanger ends are formed, and means for pressing and holding inwardly the bottom bar of the hanger during the bending operation including -slides adjacent said spaced lugs and movable towards the same.

7. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for feeding successive wire blanks, means for bending said blanks into form including levers and slides, means for twisting the bent ends of the hanger together releasing said pawl to cause'the twister carriage to be moved by said spring to inner osition a ush bar-havin connection with the first named upright lever and a lower notch engaging a stud of said last named upright lever for returning the twister carriage to outer position, and'a device for releasing said push bar from said stud in the final movement of the upright levers in one direction in returning said clamping levers and, twister carriage to first position.

'8. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for feeding successive wire blanks, means for bending said blanks into form and for locking the bending means in final clamping position, means for twisting the encPportions of the wire blank together while the parts are so locked, the twisting means including a reciprocatory carriage having a shaft and a head thereon provided with a diefor engaging the wire ends, and an operating crank geared to said head to oompletethe twisting of a hanger in onehalf turn of said crank forwardly and to 'completethe twisting of a succeeding hangerin one-half reverse turn and means for holding the carriage in outer position, for reand having a loose sleeve thereon and a coiled spring bearing at one end against said sleeve, said spring holding said shaft in reverse position and admitting of a slight forward movement of the shaft during the twisting operation.

'9. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for feeding successive wire blanks, means for bending said blanks into form having right angle end bends and including means for preventing the crossing of said end bends.

10. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for feeding successive wire blanks, means for bending said blanks into form having right angle end bends and including means for preventing the crossing of said end bends comprising a device movable longitudinally between and without the said end bends.

'11. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for feeding successive wire blanks, means for bending said blanks into form having parallel abutting end bends including levers fulerumed at their'inner'ends and having at their outer ends clamping jaws provided with notches having right angle extensions, a stationary head having a blade portion engaging said notches, and spaced lugs about which the ends of the hanger are bent by the operation of said levers, the notched ends of said clamping jaws meeting each other and said blade portion to form rightangle bends at the roots of said. end. bends. I

12. In-a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for feeding successive wire blanks, means for bending said blanks into form having parallel abutting end bends; including levers fulcrumed at their inner ends and having at their outerends clamping jaws provided with notcheshaving right angle extensions, "a stationary head having a blade portion engaging said notches, and spaced lugs about which the ends of the hanger are bent by the operation of said levers, the notched ends of said clamping jaws meeting each other and said blade portion to form right angle bends at the roots of said end bonds, and means for preventing the crossing of said end bends.

13. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for feeding successive wire blanks, means for. bending said blanks into form having parallel abutting'end bends including leversfulcrumed at their inner ends and having at their outer ends clamping jaws provided with notches having right angle eX- tensions, a stationary head having. a blade portion, engaging said notches, and spaced lugs' about which the ends of the hanger are bent by the operation of said levers, the

notched ends of said clamping jaws meeting ios each other and said blade portion to form right angle bends at the roots of said end bends, and means for preventing the crossing of said end bends including a lever having an arm fitting between said endbends and means for operating said lever to gradually Withdraw said arm from between said end bends.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature,

- DAVID S. BOYLES. 

